Comparison · iPhone
Cleanup vs CleanMy®Phone: what 4,779 reviews say
Short answer
Cleanup averages 2.89 stars across 3,789 US and UK reviews; CleanMy®Phone averages 3.51 across 990. CleanMy®Phone has the smaller share of 1–2★ reviews (34.6% against 50.9%). The widest gap is the app not working or doing little: 14% of Cleanup's low ratings against 28.6% of CleanMy®Phone's. CleanMy®Phone lists the lower starting price.
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Cleanup vs CleanMy®Phone: the numbers side by side
| Cleanup | CleanMy®Phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms in our data | Android and iPhone | iPhone |
| What it is | photo cleaner | iPhone photo cleaner |
| Reviews analysed | 3,789 | 990 |
| Average rating | 2.89 | 3.51 |
| 5★ share | 40.4% | 52% |
| 1–2★ share | 50.9% | 34.6% |
| Billing share of 1–2★ | 51.5% | 53.6% |
| Reviews saying "scam", "fraud" or "rip-off" | 4.6% | 1.5% |
| Developer replies (Google Play) | 0.1% | not measured |
| Prices on the store (US) | App Store (US) in-app purchases from $5.95 to $29.99; Google Play (US) $6.99 to $39.99 per item, with ads | App Store (US) in-app purchases from $2.99 to $39.99 |
Where do Cleanup and CleanMy®Phone differ most?
- CleanMy®Phone's unhappy reviewers mention the app not working or doing little roughly twice as often as Cleanup's: 28.6% against 14% of 1–2★ reviews.
- On slowness, crashes and bugs, CleanMy®Phone draws 12.2% of its 1–2★ reviews, while Cleanup draws 5.8%.
- Ads, pop-ups and pushy screens is a bigger issue for Cleanup (6.8% of low ratings) than for CleanMy®Phone (2.6%).
- Cleanup's unhappy reviewers mention calling the app a scam or rip-off more often as CleanMy®Phone's: 10.5% against 7% of 1–2★ reviews.
- On space that never came back, CleanMy®Phone draws 3.5% of its 1–2★ reviews, while Cleanup draws 1.3%.
Both are compared on iPhone, where both have enough reviews. Cleanup deletes duplicate photos and videos and similar screenshots, merges duplicate contacts and compresses videos; CleanMy®Phone finds duplicates, similar and blurry photos, screenshots and large videos, and was previously sold as Gemini Photos.
Are Cleanup and CleanMy®Phone improving?
Cleanup went from 2.45 stars in 2026-Q2 to 3.15 in 2026-Q4, with billing at 42.8% of its latest 1–2★ reviews. CleanMy®Phone went from 3.81 stars in 2025-Q3 to 3.83 in 2026-Q3, with billing at 16.7% of its latest 1–2★ reviews.
Where are Cleanup and CleanMy®Phone alike?
Their reviewers agree on a paywall before the app does anything useful, an ad or listing that promised something else and having to review items one by one: on each, the two apps are within two points of each other (11.4% vs 10.8%; 5.1% vs 4.1%; 3% vs 3.8%). 45.3% of Cleanup's reviews are 1★ and 40.4% are 5★; for CleanMy®Phone the split is 28.2% and 52%, so Cleanup has noticeably more very angry reviewers.
What do happy users praise in each?
37.7% of CleanMy®Phone's 4–5★ reviews say it works, compared with 24.4% for Cleanup. 10% of CleanMy®Phone's 4–5★ reviews say organising photos, compared with 0.9% for Cleanup. 25.2% of CleanMy®Phone's 4–5★ reviews say it is easy to use, compared with 17.3% for Cleanup.
Which is cheaper, Cleanup or CleanMy®Phone?
Cleanup: App Store (US) in-app purchases from $5.95 to $29.99; Google Play (US) $6.99 to $39.99 per item, with ads. CleanMy®Phone: App Store (US) in-app purchases from $2.99 to $39.99. CleanMy®Phone starts lower, at $2.99 against $5.95. Billing makes up 51.5% of Cleanup's 1–2★ reviews and 53.6% of CleanMy®Phone's.
What reviewers say about Cleanup and CleanMy®Phone
- Cleanup: "waste of time, the app found nothing to delete, just wanted me to sign up for the free trial of the paid version. Uninstalled." (1★, Google Play, US, Jul 2026)
- Cleanup: "Phone was slow, full of years of clutter...now, everything is responsive, great !" (5★, Google Play, US, Sep 2026)
- CleanMy®Phone: "Avoid this app. New update has made it useless. Previous version was much better." (1★, App Store, UK, Jul 2024)
- CleanMy®Phone: "Used to but it gets stuck since last update." (1★, App Store, UK, Oct 2024)
Picked from the the app not working or doing little and slowness, crashes and bugs themes, where the two differ most.
Should you choose Cleanup or CleanMy®Phone?
On ratings alone, CleanMy®Phone is the safer bet on the evidence here, with 16.3% fewer 1–2★ reviews. If the app not working or doing little is what worries you most, Cleanup has the better record on it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cleanup better than CleanMy®Phone?
CleanMy®Phone has fewer unhappy reviews (34.6% 1–2★ against 50.9%). Neither figure measures cleaning quality directly; they show how reviewers felt.
Which has fewer subscription complaints?
Cleanup: billing is 51.5% of its 1–2★ reviews, against 53.6%.
Sources
- Cleanup: Phone Storage Cleaner, US App Store (checked 31 October 2026)
- Cleanup: Phone Storage Cleaner, Google Play (checked 31 October 2026)
- CleanMy®Phone: Cleanup Storage, US App Store (checked 31 October 2026)
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